Aloha and Welcome!
Welcome to the United States (U.S.) Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Land-Based Training and Testing environmental planning website.
This website is an online resource for information on the preparation of the Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of conducting land-based, multi-domain (air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace) training and testing activities on lands under federal jurisdiction at PMRF and Ka‘ula Island. The Missile Defense Agency is a cooperating agency because of its launch activities at PMRF, and the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps are participating in the development of the EA as additional range users.
PMRF is a premier testing and training area where new technologies are tested and military service members are trained to defend the United States and its territories, interests, and allies. Strategically situated in the Hawaiian Islands, PMRF provides a realistic environment for training and testing in the use of surface, subsurface, land, air, and space weapons systems. PMRF’s unique location includes relatively isolated ocean areas to the north, south, and west that safely and effectively support military readiness activities. Training and testing activities have been conducted at PMRF for decades. Please visit PMRF Kaua‘i and PMRF Barking Sands websites to find out more about PMRF.
The Navy released a Draft EA for public review and comment on Aug. 30, 2024. The Draft EA includes an analysis of the potential environmental effects associated with conducting land-based training and testing activities within the Study Area. The Navy received comments from the public on the Draft EA during the 30-day public review and comment period, and is considering them in development of the Final EA.
Study Area
The Study Area for the EA consists of lands within federal jurisdiction at PMRF Barking Sands (Main Base)*, roughly 0.5 mile wide and 7.5 miles long area, beginning at the high tide line and extending inland to the boundary of the PMRF installation. The Study Area also includes Ka‘ula Island, an offshore islet where under federal jurisdiction where gunnery and bombing exercises with non-explosive ordnance occur. The Study Area does not include any of the lease or easement lands (Kōkeʻe, Makaha Ridge, Miloliʻi Ridge, Kamokalā, Mānā Water Well, or lease lands that abut Barking Sands) for which the State of Hawai‘i currently maintains jurisdiction. There are no proposed changes in use or operations in these locations, and the current level of operations are analyzed in the PMRF and Kōkeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory Real Estate Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that is concurrently in development. The scope of this EA also does not include Port Allen or Ni‘ihau because there are no proposed changes in use or testing and training activities conducted at these locations, which are analyzed in the 2008 Hawaii Range Complex EIS (Volume 1; additional volumes also available).
*Note that “Main Base” is a common naming convention for Navy fee simple, leasehold, and easement lands on the Mānā Plain. This Environmental Assessment analyzes potential effects from the Proposed Action only on the fee simple (federal jurisdiction) lands.